Aggregate mixer construction



May 25, 1965' J. A. SNYDER AGGREGATE MIXER CONSTRUCTION Filed March 8, 1963 mvsmon Joseplzfl. Snyder ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,185,451 AGGREGATE MIXER CONSTRUCTION Joseph A. Snyder, 4336 Portage St., North Canton 20, Ohio Filed Mar. 8, 1963, Ser. No. 263,927 6 Claims. (Cl. 259179) My invention relates generally to an aggregate mixer construction, and more specifically to an aggregate mixer construction of the type which may be controlled and manipulated conveniently by a single worker for mixlng preferably relatively small quantities of various forms of aggregateiand comminuted materials. liven more specifically, my invention relates to an aggregate mixer construction which may be conveniently used for mixing relatively small quantities of materials, such as concrete, plaster and mortar, for use by workmen in home and building construction, as well as by home owners for various rep-air work. V

One of the conventional methods of mixing various forms of aggregate and comminuted materials for use in home and building construction .and repair has been by use of the conventional cement mixer, wherein a somewhat bowl shaped drum is rotated either by electric motor or gasoline motor power. These mixing drums are necessarily relatively large and require a supporting frame of considerable size mounted on wheels for mobility, and in the use of the same, it is merely necessary to place the materials to be mixed in the drum with the mixing liquids and the rotation accomplishes the mixing action.

One of the major dimculties with this conventional type of mixer is that it is bulky and cumbersome and, therefore, must be placed outside of the building being constructed, so that it is necessary to transport the mixed material to the immediate site of work by use of wheelbarrows :and the like. A further difficulty is that these prior mixers are relatively expensive and are constructed for mixing large quantities, thereby making such constructions completely impractical tor performing small repair jobs around the household.

It is possible in present times to purchase the so-called ready-mix concrete which is mixed at :a remote mixing plant and transported tothe site of construction in large mixing trucks. One of the principal difficulties of obtaining concrete inthis manner is that the capacity of the mixing trucks is relatively large and unless these larger quantities are required and can be used immediately, the cost of the concrete becomes prohibitive.

In the case of plaster used on the interior walls of structures, various forms of smaller mixers have been provided cfior supplying the mixed plaster required, but all of these have been complicated and expensive requiring prohibitive maintenance and, therefore, have been impractical. In the usual instance of mixing plaster, the most common practice is to provide a large shallow mortar box which may likewise be used for mixing various types of mortar fior brick and tile work. Whether plaster or mortar is required, theusual procedure is to place the ingredients directly in the mortar box, mix them by hand with the use of a hoe, and then gradually add the necessary water while continuing to mix with the hoe until the proper mixture is provided.

Obviously, by the use of a mortar box and hand mixing, it is possible to provide virtually any quantity of plaster or mortar desired. The principal difiiculty, however, is that a worker is required of considerable strength and the job of mixing is quite tiring and time consuming.

It is, therefore, a general object of the present invention to provide an aggregate mixer construction which is mechanically driven, may be manipulated easily by l3.

single person, and which may be used for mixing relatively small quantities of various types of materials required in home and building construction and repair, -as well as other types of material requiring mixing around the home and farm.

It is a primary object of the present invention to provide an aggregate mixer construction with wh ch relatively small quantities of materials may be thoroughly and completely mixed by one person with a minimum of effort and the maximum of convenience.

It is a further object of the present invention to :provide an aggregate mixer construction having mechanically driven, dual, oppositely rotating mixing blades of a new and unique form providing the maximum of thorough and eflioient mixing of various forms of aggregate and comminuted materials, whether in a dry or semiliquid state.

Finally, it is an object of the present invention to provide an aggregate mixer construction which satisfies all of the foregoing objects in a simple and efiicient manner,

and may be provided at a minimum of expense.

These and other objects are accomplished by the parts, constructions, arrangements, combinations and subcombinations comprising the present invention, preferred embodiments of 1whichillustrative of the best mod-es in which applicant has contemplated applying the principles-are set forth in the following description and illustratcd in the accompanying drawings, and which are particularly and distinctly pointed out and set forth in the appended claims forming a part hereof.

In general terms, the aggregate mixer construction comprising the present invention may be stated as including preferably downwardly extending elongated handle means having gear drive means, prefier ably in the form of a gear reduction unit, mounted at the lower end thereof, with a drive motor operably connected to the gear reduction'uni-t for, driving the same and with this drive motor preferably being remotely controllable by control means at the upper end of the handle means. Further, the present invention includes a pair of preferably conically shaped mixing blades operably connected to the gear reduction unit and extending downwardly therefrom and from the handle means for rotation, prefer- ;aoly each in an opposite direction, by the gear reduction unit.

These conically shaped mixing blades are rotatably mounted side by side transversely spaced and free trom interfitting, and each preferably rotates in a direction downwardly and inwardly toward the other or upwardly and outwardly away from the other. Fu-rther, each mixing blade is preferably formed spirally and comically wound from rod or flat-strip material which is secured to a blade shaft at the maximum and minimum diameters of the blades providing some flexibility for the blade therebetween, and the direction of spiral or helical winding of the particular blade is the same as the direction of the rotation of that particular blade from the largest diameter to the minimum diameter.

By way of example, embodiments of the aggregate mixer construction of the present invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawings forming a part thereof, wherein like numerals indicate similar parts throughout the several views, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view showing a preferred form of the aggregate mixer of the present invention positioned in a conventional mortar box and in mixing position;

FIG. 2, a slightly enlarged top plan view of the aggregate rnixer of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3, an enlarged fragmentary sectional view, part in elevation, looking in the direction of the arrows 33 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4, an enlarged top perspective view of one of the mixing blades with the mounting shaft thereof detached from the main portion of the mixer; and

FIG. 5, another form of the mixing blade of FIG. 4.

Referring to FIGS. '1 and 2 of the drawings, the preferred form of the aggregate mixer construction of the present invention includes a rod-like elongated handle having a transverse control bar 11 secured to the upper end thereof. Mounted at the lower end of the handle 10 is a cylindrically encased gear reduction unit 12 having preferably an electric driving motor 13 mounted thereon and operably connected thereto, with the drive motor centrally overlying the handle 1G, thereby balancing the weight of this drive motor over the handle.

The drive motor 13 is of usual construction and is operably connected to the input side of the gear reduction unit 12 with the output of the gear reduction unit being provided by the two driving gears 14 and 15, each of which is provided with a driving shaft 16 and 17 and a driving chuck 18 and 19, respectively. Further, these driving shafts and chucks preferably extend downwardly from the gear reduction unit 12 on center lines preferably in a plane parallel with the plane through the handle 16 and control bar 11. Still further, the drive motor 13 may be provided with electrical power by an electrical cord 20 extending from the drive motor upwardly through the handle :19 and from the upper end of the handle adjacent the control bar 11, as shown, with a hand control switch 21 being mounted on the control bar 11 and integrated into this drive motor electrical circuit in the usual manner.

The gear reduction unit 12 may be of generally usual construction for transmitting rotational power down to the driving gears 14 and 15, and at this point, as shown in FIG. 3, a pinion 22 of the gear reduction unit meshes with the driving gear 14, which driving gear 14 in turn meshes with and drives the driving gear 15. Thus, these two driving gears 14 and 15 are driven in opposite directions of rotation which may be described as being in a direction downwardly and inwardly toward each other or upwardly and outwardly away from each other. Furthermore, these driving gears 14 and 15 are mounted in the gear reduction unit 12 side by side so that the driving shafts 16 and 17 operably mounted in and driven by these driving gears extend downwardly from the gear reduction unit through usual bearing blocks 23 and 24 in transversely spaced side by side position.

The driving chucks 18 and 19 are mounted on and rotatably driven by the lower ends of the driving shafts 16 and 17, respectively, and these chucks 1S and 19 are c0nstructed for removably receiving the upper ends of the mixing blade mounting shafts 25 and 26, with these shafts being removably secured for co-axial rotation with the driving chucks by usual set screws 27. The conically shaped mixing blades 28 and 29 are secured to the lower ends of the mounting shafts 25 and 26 for rotation by these shafts.

Thus, the gear reduction unit 12 and drive motor 13 constitute drive means for rotatably mounting and driving the conical mixing blades 28 and 29 through their respective mounting shafts 25 and 26. Furthermore, these mixing blades 28 and 29, by virtue of the positioning of the mounting shafts 25 and 26 and the driving gears 14 and 15, are positioned side by side with the mounting shafts 25 and 26 preferably being in a plane substantially parallel to the plane through the handle 10 and control bar 111, and with these mixing blades being rotated in opposite directions which, as in the case of the driving gears 14 and 15, may be described as being downwardly inwardly toward each other or upwardly outwardly away from each other.

Also, it is preferred that the gear reduction unit 12 and the driving gears 14 and 15 are constructed and arranged such that the speed at which the mounting shafts 25 land 26, and therefore the conical mixing blades 28 and 29, are driven is in the order of 180 r.p.m., so that the speed of the drive motor 13 is reduced this extent through the gear reduction unit 12 and the driving gears 14 and 15. In this manner, the conical mixing blades 28 and 29 will .be driven at a sufficiently low speed so as to properly accomplish mixing without an excessive throwing of the material being mixed.

The conical shape of each of the mixing blades 28 and 29 is formed by spirally wrapping rod-like material, and in the form shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 4, this rod-like material is preferably a continuous cylindrical steel rod formed for each of the mixing blades 28 and 29. In the case of the mixing blade 29, the rod at the upper or large diameter end of blade 29 is secured to the mounting shaft 26 preferably by welding, as at 30, with the rod of blade 29 being spirally wrapped spaced from the mounting shaft 26 progressively downwardly in a clockwise direction, terminating in a minimum diameter at the lower end of mounting shaft 26 where it is secured to this shaft lower end preferably by welding, as at 31.

The mixing blade .28 is secured to the mounting shaft 25 in the same manner and is substantially identically formed with the exception that the spiral winding of mixing blade 28 is in the opposite direction, that is, counterclockwise from the maximum diameter downwardly toward the minimum diameter, as shown in FIG. 2. Thus, each of the mixing blades 28 and 29 is formed spirally and conically wrapped from the larger diameters to the minimum diameters thereof in the same direction as the direct-ions of rotation of these blades.

Furthermore, the side by side or transverse spacing of the mounting shafts 25 and 26 is such that at the maximum diameters of these mixing blades 28 and 29, the blades are transversely spaced at least sufficiently for rotating clearance and are, therefore, free from interfitting. Also, by securing the mixing blades 28 and 29 to their mounting shafts 25 and 26 only at the upper and lower extremities thereof, leaving them free of these mounting shafts in between, and by forming these blades of appropriate rod-like material, a certain amount of flexibility is provided for the blades throughout the intermediate portions thereof.

It is preferred that the apex angles of the cones described by the mixing blades 28 and 29 will be on the order of degrees to degrees for maximum convenience and results, that is, the sides of these mixing blades will preferably describe angles on the order of 32 degrees to 45 degrees with the mounting shafts 25 and 26. Also, it is preferred that the various oonvolutes of each mixing blade will be spaced downwardly from each other as they progressively decrease in diameter from the larger diameter toward the minimum diameter ends in order to provide each mixing blade with a reasonable amount of spacing therein.

Thus, the aggregate mixer construction of the present invention may be placed in the usual mortar box 32, as shown in FIG. 1, for mixing the various materials required in any quantity desired and directly at the particular site of work. As shown in FIG. 1, due to the particular angling of the conicaily shaped mixing blades 28 the mixing blades 28 and 29, the mixer construction will tend to stay in one location rather than having any tendency to move in either direction sideways across the mortar box 32, as long as thetwo mixing blades are maintained level transversely with each other. Due to the particular direction of rotation of each of these mixing blades, however, if it is desired that the mixer construction will move in either transverse direction while the mixing blades are rotating, it is only necessary to tilt the mixer in either transverse direction, thereby causing one of the mixing blades to dig into the material being mixed, while the other mixing blade is relieved of certain of the mixing resistance.

With the mixing blades 28 and 29 rotating downwardly and inwardly or upwardly and outwardly from the maximum diameters thereof to the minimum diameters thereof, it it is desired to have the mixer construction move in the direction toward the mixing blade 28, it is only necessary to tilt the mixer construction toward this mixing blade 28 causing the maximum mixing resistance to be on this particular blade and causing the rotation of the blade to move the entire mixer construction in that particular direction. To move in the opposite direction, merely the opposite tilting is supplied, and the rotation of the mixing blade 29 will cause the opposite transverse directional movement of the entire construction.

In view of the particular direction of rotation of each of the mixing blades 28 and 29 and the fact that each of these blades is formed spirally wrapped in this same direction, that is, the same direction as the direction of rotation, the material being mixed in themortar box 32 will be moved by these mixing blades re-arwardly or from the minimum diameters of these blades toward the maximum diameters thereof in a screw-like fashion which will tend to cause these mixing blades to dig forwardly into the material being mixed. This will make it unnecessary for the workmen to exert a forward force for maintaining these mixing blades in the material being mixed and also will provide for a maximum mixing action.

Furthermore, in view of the fact that the mixing blades 28 and 29 are formed spirally wrapped in the same direction as the direction of rotation of these blades, they tend to be self-cleaning at the forward ends or minimum diameters thereof. This avoids the locking of material being mixed at the forward ends of these mixing blades during the rotation and mixing action thereof and this is particularly important where aggregates of larger size are being mixed as opposed to powdered materials.

Finally, an over-all self-cleaning action is provided by the mixing blades 28 and 29 due to the particular formation and positioning thereof. The fact that these mixing blades are free from interfitting, the convolutes thereof are relatively spaced, the over-all shapes thereof are conical, and the intermediate sections of these blades are somewhat flexible, all contribute to prevent the locking and clogging of the various materials either within or between these mixing blades.

An alternate form for the mixing blades 25 and 26 is shown in FIG. 5. In this case, these mixing blades would be formed in the same manner previously described with the exception that, instead of using cylindrical rod-like material, fiat strip material would be used as the rod-like material for spirally forming these blades.

As shown in FIG. 5, the mixing blade 129 would include the mounting shaft 126 with the strip material, prefer-ably through a short connecting rod 134, being secured at the maximum diameter thereof to shaft 126 by welding, as at 130 and 135, and at the minimum diameter also by welding, as at 131, with freedom and some flexibility in the intermediate portions thereof. Furthermore, when this strip material is used, it is preferred that the larger dimension surfaces thereof will face generally upwardly and downwardly, that is, generally in the direction of extension of the mounting shaft 126, with an edge thereof facing generally outwardly to describe the sides of the conical shape.

With this particular positioning of the'strip material, a greater mixing action or movement of material is provided upon the rotation of these mixing blades. The screw-like action of these mixing blades, as previously described, with the greater surface area of this strip material, will provide this increased mixing action.

Thus, according to the principles of the present invention an aggregate mixer construction is provided which may be used for mixing relatively small quantities of aggregate and comminuted materials directly at the particular site Where these materials are to be used. Furthermore, due to the unique formation of the conical mixing blades and the particular directions of rotation thereof, the maximum efiicient mixing is accomplished with a minimum of efiior-t and without problems of clogging and binding of the mixing blades.

In the foregoing description, certain terms have been used for brevity, clearness and understanding but no unnecessary limitations are to be implied therefrom, because such words are used tor descriptive purposes herein and are intended to be broadly construed.

Moreover, the embodiments of the improved construction illustrated and described herein are by way of example and the scope of the present invention is not limited to the exact details of construction shown.

Having now described the invention, the construction, operation and use of preferred embodiments thereof, and the advantageous new and useful results obtained thereby, the new and useful construction and reasonable mechanical equivalents thereof obvious to those skilled in the art are set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

-'l. Aggregate mixer construction including elongated handle means having a lower end, a pair of transversely spaced comically shaped mixing blades mounted oppositeiy rotatable operably connected to and extending away from the handle means lower end, the mixing blades extending away from the handle means lower end in progressively decreasing diameter spirally wound conical shape and being transversely positioned free of interfitting, and drive means operably connected to the conical mixing blades for driving said blades in opposite directions of rotation.

2. Mixer construction as defined in claim 1 in which the mixing blades include mounting shafts Operably rotatably mounted on and extending away from the handle means lower end, and spirally wound conically shaped blade portions attached to the mounting shafts solely at maximum diameter ends and minimum diameter ends and being free of attachment to said shafts intermediate said ends.

3. Mixer construction as defined in claim 1 in which the mixing blades are spirally wound conically shaped blades formed of rod-like material.

4. Mixer construction as defined in claim 1 in which the mixing blades are spirally wound conically shaped blades formed of flat strip material.

5. Mixer construction as defined in claim 1 in which the mixing blades are oppositely rotatably mounted in downward inward directions of rotation relative to each other; and in which the mixing blades are spirally wound in the same directions as the directions of rotation of said blades from maximum diameters to minimum diameters thereof.

7 t3 6. Mixer construction as defined in claim 1 in which the blade portions are spirally wound in the same directhe mixing blades include mounting shafts openably tions as the directions of rotation of said blade portions rotatably mounted on .and extending away from the from the maximum to the minimum diameters thereof.

handle means lower end, and spirally wound comically shaped blade portions attached to the mounting shafts 5 References Cited by the Examiner solely at maximum diameter ends and minimum diam- UNITED STATES PATENTS eter ends and being free of attachment to said shafts 2 539,017 5 Hansen 259 .131 X intermediate said ends; in which the mixing blades are 31061284 10/62 Tincher et 1 oppositely rotatably mounted in downward inward directions of rotation relative to each other; and in which 10 HARL S A. WILLMUTH, Primary Examiner. 

1. AGGREGATE MIXER CONSTRUCTION INCLUDING ELONGATED HANDLE MEANS HAVING A LOWER END, A PAIR OF TRANSVERSELY SPACED CONICALLY SHAPED MIXING BLADES MOUNTED OPPOSITE LY ROTATABLE OPERABLY CONNECTED TO AND EXTENDING AWAY FROM THE HANDLE MEANS LOWER END, THE MIXING BLADES EXTENDING AWAY FROM THE HANDLE MEANS LOWER END IN PROGRESSIVELY DECREASING DIAMETER SPIRALLY WOUND CONICAL SHAPE AND BEING TRANSVERSELY POSITIONED FREE OF INTERFITTING, AND DRIVE MEANS OPERABLY CONNECTED TO THE CONICAL MIXING BLADES FOR DRIVING SAID BLADES IN OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS OF ROTATION. 